Ilkeston taxi firm has flourished since its 2009 inception

Paul Kitchen, left, with his staff at Taxi-Man, on the Ropewalk Industrial Estate, Ilkeston.

Published:08:00Friday 04 December 2015

When Ilkeston man Paul Kitchen started his own taxi firm Taxi-Man in 2009 it was just him and a car.

Now he has 14 staff, including nine drivers, and a office based on the Ropewalk Industrial Estate on Station Road in Ilkeston that opened earlier this year.

He told the ‘Tiser: “I started as a sole trader working off the taxi rank in Ilkeston. I then started generating airport work. It grew and grew and eventually I couldn’t cope on my own any longer so in June last year I started taking other drivers on. It the made sense to have an office and office staff so we opened one in February.”

Paul has been a taxi driver for 16 years and loves his job: “It’s a people industry’, he said ‘you are out on the road, not stuck in a factory. It has its challenges but it has more upsides than downsides. I enjoy the interaction with the public.

“We are a company that emphasise customers service, we are a modern company with old fashioned values. We go out of our way to help people.”

Taxi-Man mainly covers the Erewash area but will take customers to any airport.

They offer competitive rates including £45 return to East Midlands Airport, or £70 for a minibus to East Midlands.